Why Terracotta Roof Tiles Are A Solid Choice

Selecting your roofing material is one of the most important choices you’ll make when building a new home. There’s a lot more to consider than just the practicalities of keeping the largest surface in your home - and everything beneath it - protected from the weather. Aesthetics, comfort, acoustic properties, fire safety, durability, maintenance, cost - there is a sizeable list of factors to weigh up to ensure that you make the right choice.

Terracotta is famously durable. It’s why the first Emperor of China chose terracotta warriors to protect him in the afterlife, and it’s also why terracotta roof tiles have been a popular choice of roofing material across the world for hundreds of years.

Despite the fact that they’ve been used for a very long time, it would be a mistake to think of terracotta roof tiles as outdated or irrelevant. Thanks to a unique blend of high quality materials and cutting edge production techniques, our extensive range of terracotta roof tile colours and profiles allows homeowners to achieve long lasting good looks.

Their flexibility in design also allows them to pair with a wide range of architectural styles and specifications. This means that no matter what look you’re hoping to achieve with your new build, we’ll have the terracotta roof tiles you need to bring it all together.

If you’re in the process of planning your next home, there are a whole host of reasons why you should opt for Midland Brick terracotta tiles as your roofing material of choice.

To find out exactly why, check out our in-depth guide below.

Colour Retention

Colour retention is important for a couple of reasons. In addition to giving you a more vibrant and pleasant home to come back to each day, it can play an important role in preserving the value of your property. A house is only worth what someone is prepared to pay for it, and aesthetics count for a lot when you’re negotiating a sale price. The fact of the matter is that a property with a roof that looks as bright and colourful as the day it was built is going to command a higher price than one that’s tired, worn and faded.

Our terracotta tiles are crafted from select natural clays and vibrant colour oxides that are kiln fired to temperatures of 1100℃. This gives them exceptional character and strength and excellent colour retention. Unlike other roofing materials, our terracotta roof tiles retain their appearance with age, thus preserving the aesthetic appearance of your home in the long term.

Long Lasting Durability

One of the secrets behind the enduring popularity of terracotta roof tiles is their hardwearing endurance. That’s why they come with a 50 year warranty - we’re confident that they’ll last at least that long when installed correctly, regardless of the location of your property.

The high temperature kiln firing we mentioned earlier turns each tile into a vitrified body that is impervious to air and waterborne pollutants. It also enables them to withstand exposure to our State’s harsh UV light without breaking down.

Choosing our terracotta roof tiles effectively buys you half a century of reassurance that you’ll always have a sturdy and reliable roof over your head. In fact, we guarantee it!

Salt Safe & Frost Resistant

WA is a big and beautiful place with a wide range of climate zones and environments. How many other states in the world can lay claim to taking up the better part of half a continent? Yet no matter where you choose to build your home, our terracotta roof tiles can handle whatever the elements throw at them, including salt and frost.

The inert nature of the natural clay used and our state-of-the-art high temperature kiln firing makes them suitable for all locations, including coastal areas with close proximity to breaking surf. This means that whether you’re building near the beach in Broome or in the frosty depths of the Great Southern, our terracotta roof tiles won’t corrode or weaken over time like other roofing materials are prone to do.

Thermal Performance

We can all agree that what happens in the home underneath your roofing is just as important as how that roofing protects you from the elements on the other side. That’s why thermal performance is an important consideration when selecting roofing materials. Your choice of roofing material will have a big impact on the temperature inside your house and the energy used to maintain it at a comfortable level.

Made from dense material that retains heat well, terracotta roof tiles provide excellent thermal performance that can help to reduce the energy needed to heat and cool your home. Not only will this help to reduce your monthly energy bills, it will also minimise your carbon footprint.

You can also boost the thermal performance of your terracotta roof tiles by using sarking, installing increased insulation, choosing a lighter colour to reflect the heat and adapting solar passive principles in the design of your home.

Acoustic Performance

The sound of light rain on a tin roof is a nice romantic image, but the roar of a torrential downpour, hail or high winds while you’re trying to have a conversation or watch TV is a much less pleasant reality. It’s not just weather-related noise that can have an impact on your lifestyle either. External sounds like traffic, aircraft and trains can also impinge upon your peace and quiet and can even get in the way of having a proper night’s sleep.

Enter the terracotta roof tile. With a sound reduction potential of 30 decibels (as opposed to only 12 decibels for the most commonly used roofing alternative) they’re a great way of helping to ensure that your home is the quiet and peaceful sanctuary that it should be.

Low Maintenance

Climbing up on your roof to perform maintenance is not only an arduous task, it can also be an extremely dangerous one. The beauty of terracotta roof tiles is that once they’re installed they have negligible maintenance requirements for the entire lifetime of the your property.

Should a section of the roof ever become damaged or require modification (such as if you decide to install a skylight), only the affected tiles require replacement or removal. This makes any repairs and maintenance - should they ever be necessary - a much quicker and cheaper process than would be the case with a different type of roofing material.

Fire Resistance

Bushfires are an unfortunate reality for many parts of WA. Due to their non-combustible nature, our terracotta roof tiles can be safely used in bushfire-prone areas.

However, recent legislation regarding building in bushfire susceptible areas means that you’ll need to be aware of your area and its Bushfire Attack Level (BAL) building requirements. In areas assessed as BAL-12 to BAL-40, sarking with a flammability index of not more than 5 must be installed under your tiles and cover the whole roof.

In BAL-FZ areas, specific construction requirements can be obtained here at the Roof Tiling Association of Australia website.

Rainwater & Tank Safety

As the realities of climate change start to manifest and a steady supply of water becomes less reliable, more and more people are utilising rainwater tanks to supplement their consumption and reduce their water bills.

Our terracotta roof tiles are 100% non-toxic, and provided that your roof is kept in a clean and healthy state, they’re suitable for the collection of rainwater for consumption and reuse. They’re also manufactured to AS 2049 standards, which ensures that their surface treatment is free of any elements or chemicals in concentrations known to be hazardous to health.

Their inert and non-corrosive nature also means that your rainwater will never become tainted by rust and other forms of potentially harmful pollution.

Making A Solid Choice

So it turns out you don’t have to be a famous Chinese emperor to enjoy the protection and prestige afforded by terracotta. Regardless of the look and feel you’re hoping to achieve with your new home build, our fantastic range of terracotta tiles will not only help it look fantastic in the long term, they’ll also help deliver a host of other great benefits for the entire lifetime of your property.

Browse our range online today or get in touch with one of our helpful team members to find out more about what’s possible when you make a solid choice and opt for our terracotta tiles as your roofing material.